Christmas Wishes
by EchidnaPower
Summary: For ten years, Amy Rose has only wanted one thing for Christmas, and she's finally come to accept the reality that she'll never receive it. But a conversation with Rouge rekindles her hope and her Christmas spirit. Will she be let down again? Or will her one wish finally come true this year? Read to find out. (Sister story to my other story titled "Anonymous")


**So this was a story I wrote as a present for someone as part of a Sonic Secret Santa event on Tumblr, and it also happens to be the sister story of my Shadow-based Christmas story, "Anonymous."**

 **This is a Sonamy story, and it's a bit more lengthy than I was expecting it to be, but I personally feel it's more heartwarming this way. It's been a while since I wrote something like that for one of my main couples, so I'm hoping this'll be a step in that direction. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy everyone, and Merry Christmas.**

 **I own nothing except the story.  
_**

Christmas time on Mobius was an interesting thing. It was the one time of year where it didn't really matter where you went, there would still be snow and the customary Christmas cheer, as if Ice Cap Zone had widened its borders across the whole planet, bringing with it feelings of joy and peace, the very definition of a winter wonderland.

Unless your name was Amy Rose.

The petite pink hedgehog trudged through the Central City Mall with a frown on her face and her ears drooped. Under normal circumstances, she would be her usually bubbly self, especially while she was out shopping. But on this particular outing, she wasn't really feeling the Christmas spirit.

Normally, Amy loved Christmas. She'd spent years mastering all of the gang's favorite Christmas dishes, in fact she even found out that Sonic actually liked a food other than Chili Dogs, as every year when the gang got together, he would be the first to get his hands on the sweet potato casserole she'd made. Spending time in the kitchen with Cream and Vanilla was one of the highlights of her holiday, and seeing all of her friends gathered around the dinner table enjoying the fruits of their labor filled her with pride year in and year out.

Then there was the exchanging of gifts, when everyone would gather around the tree and take turns receiving gifts from everyone else. There had been one particularly amusing year where Sonic had decided to forego the usual tradition and decided instead to come up with booby gifts for everyone. She had received a little toy hammer set from him that year, but that was nothing compared to what Knuckles had gotten. It had taken a few minutes for the echidna to cool off after he'd unwrapped his gift, only to find a book on anger management.

But there was one thing she'd always wanted for Christmas, something she'd wanted ever since she was a little eight year old girl who'd just met her hero for the first time. All she wanted each and every year, was a Christmas kiss with Sonic under the mistletoe.

She was eighteen years old now.

The pink hedgehog had grown up to be a very attractive young woman, and she had actually found herself going on a few dates with other men over the years…but no matter who she went out with, it would never last more than a couple of dates.

They just weren't Sonic.

After ten years of waiting, Amy had just about given up hope. Sonic had stopped running from her years ago, but mainly because she'd stopped actively chasing him. She could admit that maybe stalking him and making jokes about marrying him wasn't the best approach, but she was a kid then, what the heck did she know?

Now she was more grounded in reality, and this year, her Christmas spirit had been mostly sapped away by the sad reality that Sonic just wasn't going to come around. He was a free spirit, one with the wind and that was who he'd always be…the worst part of that…was that it was that very spirit she admired so much in him. His strong sense of freedom and justice, his determination and will to succeed, and the heart of gold that he often hid behind snarky one-liners and cheesy grins…that made her heart melt whenever he used them.

She'd tried so hard to get him to reciprocate her feelings, but the most she'd ever accomplished was to get him to regard her as one of his best friends…friend zoned.

This was why Amy was wandering aimlessly through the Central City Mall with a sad frown on her face while families bustled around her doing their Christmas shopping. She'd had every intention of getting her own shopping done, but the thought of what she was going to get Sonic had brought her mind to the depressing thought that this would be yet another year where her one and only Christmas wish wouldn't come true.

Then her train of thought was abruptly derailed when she was knocked onto her butt after apparently running into someone.

"Hey! Why don't you look up while you walk?! Your shoes can't be _that_ interesting! They're not even shiny!"

Amy rubbed her forehead and looked up after wincing, and her eyes narrowed as she hopped up and summoned her trusty Piko Piko hammer in a fit of rage. _"Me_ watch where _I'm_ going?! You have eyes too don't you?! Ever heard of going around?!"

"Wait a second…"

Amy's brow furrowed as the green figure she'd been knocked over by suddenly looked her up and down and started circling her as if he were examining her. She made sure to keep an eye on him the whole way, her anger growing the longer he checked her out. "My eyes are up here creep."

The creep in question was a green duck with a red ascot around his neck, and after a few more seconds of staring, the bird jumped back and smacked his forehead with his palm. "Oh for crying out loud! I can't believe it, Rosy the Rascal! I never thought I'd see _you_ again!"

Amy raised an eyebrow at the rare use of her old surname by this complete stranger. "Do I know you?"

"Probably not, but I remember _you,_ little miss Shouty Hammer McPain. You knocked me over the head with that stupid hammer more times than I could count almost ten years ago in that Chaos Emerald Fighting Tournament!"

At the mention of that old tournament, the pink hedgehog's eyes widened as memories came flooding back. "Wait a minute, _now_ I know who you are!" she exclaimed. "You're that crazy duck I beat in that tournament for the green Chaos Emerald! You're Bean!"

"Crazy?! Who was the one who grabbed one of my bombs and stuffed it into my mouth?!"

"Hey, I was nine!" Amy crossed her arms and turned her head away with her cheeks puffed out in frustration. "It's not like I knew any better."

"Yeah sure, whatever." Bean scoffed. "I'm more angry that you took my shiny away than anything else, but I guess I can forgive you, you sure grew up good Rosy."

Amy stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"What? It's true. I mean, you got a figure that could stop traffic, you probably get shinies from dudes all the time! Jewels, necklaces..." the duck smirked. "Say, Rosy, for old time's sake, mind if I stop by and take a look?" That was the last straw. With her teeth bared and an angry vein popping out of her forehead, Amy swung her hammer as hard as she could, and Bean was sent flying through the mall. "You'll pay for thaaaaaaaaat!"

Panting from the exertion, Amy put her hammer away and clenched her fists, doing her best to ignore the stunned stares from the surrounding bystanders. "Great, my reputation precedes me."

"Well, _that_ was certainly something."

Hearing that voice made the pink hedgehog stiffen, and she turned to see a more familiar face, but she wasn't sure if it was anymore welcome. "What do you want Rouge? You want a look at my 'shinies' too?"

Rouge the Bat, special agent for G.U.N. and notorious for her love of jewels sauntered over in her formfitting sweater dress and knee high boots. "Are you offering?" the growl that emitted from the younger female answered that question. "Hey, not saying the guy didn't deserve it, just saying that I've never seen a girl get so angry to get a compliment like that."

"I'm really not in a good mood right now."

Rouge watched the pink hedgehog walk past her with her fists hanging tersely by her sides, and her curiosity got the best of her as she followed for a while to see where she went. Stealth was a major part of her spy training, but she didn't really have to use much of it since Amy was seething so much she wasn't even aware she was behind her. Finally Amy stopped in front of a music store, and moments later she entered. "Well now," Rouge said to herself. "Wonder what's so interesting in there."

Amy had decided that she would get Sonic the new CD that had come out featuring his favorite rock band, and she was headed into the music store to find it before it inevitably sold out. If nothing else, her encounter with Bean had redirected her bad mood, but it had done absolutely nothing as far as actually making her feel better. "Where's that dumb rock section? I dunno how Sonic can listen to that stuff without blowing his brains out." She finally found where she was supposed to go and briskly walked until she was in front of a section specifically meant for the band in question…only to find out that it was already too late. "Sold out?!" the hedgehog very audibly growled in frustration and then gave an exhausted and defeated sigh. "Sure, why not? It's been that kind of afternoon."

"Really not your day, huh Pinkie?"

This time Amy didn't think twice, as she again summoned her hammer and twisted around to glare at the bat girl threateningly. "You _followed_ me? And I thought _Bean_ had no sense of boundaries!"

Rouge scoffed and leaned against a nearby column with her arms crossed over her chest. "Put that thing away, it's not like it would do you any good."

Amy stood there glaring for a few moments, but she finally huffed and her hammer disappeared. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, Rouge obviously wouldn't go down as easily as Bean did. "Is there a reason you're stalking me?"

"Curiosity." Rouge shrugged nonchalantly. "Can't help but wonder what makes maybe the most sickeningly cheery Christmas girl I've ever seen suddenly turn into a little pink grinch."

"To put it as bluntly as I can, it's really none of your business what's bothering me."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested anyway." the bat girl walked over and wrapped her arm around Amy's shoulder, blatantly ignoring the annoyed glare she was receiving. "C'mon now, tell ol' Rouge what's bothering you, does it have anything to do with the big blue hunk you've been holding out for even before you were in double digits?"

"I suddenly feel like I'm under arrest, anything I say can and will be used against me."

"You _are_ under arrest, in the name of the love police." Rouge grinned. "Now come on, spill, what did Sonic do this time that's got you all riled up?"

Amy rolled her eyes and shrugged in defeat. "Fine, it's not like I haven't already humiliated myself in public today, might as well keep it going."

"Ugh, the drama." Rouge raised the back of her hand to her forehead before pointing outside with her thumb. "Come on, this is no place for a girl-to-girl heart-to-heart, how about we go get some coffee and talk this out like mature adults?"

"Only if you're buying."

Rouge shrugged. "If that's what it'll take for you to spill, I can agree to that. Come on." she led the younger girl out of the music store, and after a short and silent walk to the food court, they soon found themselves in front of the mall's chosen coffee joint where a light-blue and very apathetic looking nutria with buck teeth and braces stood in front of the cash register with an orange apron on.

"Welcome to Aroma Mocha, where the aroma is only the start of your mocha experience." he said in a monotone and yet cracking voice with his eyes half-lidded. "What can I get you?"

"I'll take a double mocha latte, extra foam," Rouge glanced at Amy. "How 'bout you Amy?"

"Um…can I get a Peppermint Hot Chocolate?"

The bat girl nodded. "There you have it," she turned to the server. "Make it so kiddo, and tell ya what, if you actually get our orders right, I'll give you a nice tip for doing a good job."

Suddenly the tall nutria looked wide awake as he rang in the order and came back only a minute or so later with two steaming hot cups. "Will that complete your order ma'am?" he received a nod. "That'll be eleven dollars and sixty-four cents."

"Boy, these coffee joints are getting more and more expensive all the time." Rouge rummaged through her purse and handed the kid a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change, maybe you can buy yourself a personality for Christmas." She grabbed both beverages and walked over to an empty table, and as soon as she sat down, Rouge took a sip of hers even as she handed Amy her hot chocolate. "Ahh, nothing like a little caffeine to keep you going." she put the drink on the table and set her elbows down, her fingers entwined with each other as she held her head up with them. "Now, start talking."

Amy gulped down the sip of hot chocolate she had in her mouth before wrapping her hands around the cup and sighing. "I guess I might as well tell you then…" she looked up at Rouge who was patiently waiting for an explanation. "I'm just pretty down this year. As dumb as this sounds, I've just come to accept the reality that my one Christmas wish is just never gonna come true."

"And what might that be?"

The pink hedgehog sighed again. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to get a Christmas kiss from Sonic under the mistletoe…but every year it just doesn't work out. We're closer than we've ever been, but it still isn't enough for him to see me as any more than just another good friend."

"So it _does_ have something to do with Big Blue."

"Of course it does. When has it ever been anything else when it comes to me?"

"True." Rouge smirked. "Well if _that's_ all that's bothering you, then I think you can chill out hun. I have a feeling Sonic cares for you a lot more than he lets on."

Amy scoffed and took another gulp of her hot chocolate before answering. "Like I haven't heard _that one_ before. It's always the same thing, everyone told me he'd eventually come around. I'm eighteen years old Rouge, I won't be taken for a fool anymore."

"Hey now, sounds like you're blaming your friends for cheering you up."

"I'm _not!"_ Amy shook her head and huffed. "But at some point I have to face facts! Sonic isn't interested, and I have to accept that. If I have to live in the friend zone for the rest of my life, then I will. Having Sonic as a friend is better than not having Sonic at all." After her little speech, Amy took another sip of hot chocolate, and her eyebrow raised when she saw the uncharacteristically soft look on Rouge's face. "What?"

"Nothing." Rouge shook her head with a small smile. "I was just thinking how refreshing it was to see someone who has such pure devotion for someone. It's rare nowadays ya know."

"Yeah…" Amy narrowed her eyes a bit. "That's suspiciously candid of you."

The agent just waved a hand dismissively. "There's a _lot_ about me you don't know Amy, part of being a part-time spy means you generally have to keep any personal information on the down low."

"Ok…so what's your point?"

Rouge sipped her latte. "My point…my point is that you can't give up, not yet. You've waited this long, wait one more year. You might be surprised."

Amy once again raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you know something I don't. What's going on Rouge?"

Rouge didn't answer, and instead just casually sipped her latte, although she couldn't help but smirk when she saw the faint spark in the young hedgehog's green eyes.

"Rouge!"

Again she said nothing, and just got up from the table with her coffee cup in hand. "I'll see you at the Christmas party Amy. Trust me, I have a feeling your wish is gonna come true this year."

The pink hedgehog watched with her jaw dropped in disbelief as Rouge sauntered away without ever addressing her question, leaving her to speculate blindly on whether or not the bat's words actually had any substance to them. "Do I dare?" Looking back, Amy never considered Rouge to be the most trustworthy friend she'd ever had. The agent had always been more concerned with looking out for herself than others, on the surface anyway.

But then again, what possible reason would she have for going out of her way to buy her a hot chocolate, let her vent and try to give her hope, false or otherwise? Rouge was one of the best spies in the world, if she really wanted to know what was bothering her, she could've just investigated and she'd get the answer in no time. _"Curiosity my butt, she knows something!"_ Suddenly Amy's eyes widened as she realized something very special.

She was smiling again.

The realization that she was smiling made her giggle, which felt even better than smiling. The tiny spark of hope given to her by Rouge the Bat of all people had rejuvenated her Christmas spirit, and suddenly everything around her seemed much more bright and colorful. She felt comfortable with the holiday she loved again, and now she couldn't wait to go back to doing her Christmas shopping and seeing all of her friends on Christmas Eve, where she would - hopefully anyway - finally have her one wish come true.

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Christmas Eve came quickly, and as per the usual routine, everyone invited crammed into the warm and cozy household of Amy Rose, bearing gifts and placing them around the tree. Surprisingly, even Shadow had made a rare appearance, apparently at the behest of Rouge, who upon entering herself, simply gave the pink hedgehog a small smirk, one that clearly said that she knew something no one else did.

But what really got her heart beating wildly was the look on Sonic's face when she opened the door for him. He too had come in with a wide variety of gifts, but it was the hesitant look on his face when he looked her in the eyes that convinced her something was up. When she had looked again, Sonic had already pasted on his signature cocky grin, but it was already too late, she had caught him, and she was excited.

Once everyone arrived, Amy, Cream and Vanilla shooed everyone else out of the kitchen to make sure no one snuck out any food under the premise of wanting to help. Tails was actually a fairly good cook, but he had a nasty habit of sticking his fingers into everything and so he'd been banned from entering.

As Amy got to work making her signature Sweet Potato Casserole, she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild with possibilities. Sonic had to be up to something, and considering how Rouge was acting and the way Sonic kept glancing away from her every time she looked, it had to be something big.

"Amy!"

The pink hedgehog jumped at the outburst, and she turned to see Cream standing next to her with a large bowl of freshly mashed potatoes in her arms and a curious expression on her face. "Oh, sorry Cream, what is it?"

"I asked what you would like me to add to the potatoes this year."

"Oh! Um, just some butter and heavy cream is fine, sprinkle in some salt and pepper too."

"Ok," The preteen rabbit set aside the potatoes and gave her best friend a pointed stare as she leaned her elbow against the countertop. "You've been out of it ever since we got here, and come to think of it, you've seemed a lot happier these past few days."

"Have I? Huh, must be my Christmas spirit coming through!"

Cream smirked and shook her head. "Uh uh, that's not it. You're practically glowing Amy! Come on, tell me what happened, please?"

Amy beamed and giggled at her young friend's pleading. "If it happens, I'll tell you, but even _I_ don't know for sure. Let's just say, I think I might finally get what I'm looking for this year."

A couple of hours later, the feast was complete and everyone gathered around the table to enjoy the fruits of Amy, Cream and Vanilla's labor. Amy had to keep herself from squealing when she found herself sitting next to Sonic...and for once it was because he had sat next to her instead of the other way around. _"Just play it cool, don't freak him out!"_ When she looked over at Rouge, she was busy trying to get Shadow to engage in conversation rather than just quietly eat his meal, but she did send a wink her way when she saw that the pink hedgehog was watching.

Soon after that, gift exchanges were made, and joy and laughter rang out throughout the house as each gift was opened by their respective recipients...although some of it was at the recipients' expense, as Sonic had purchased a couple of booby gifts again for the likes of Knuckles and Shadow on top of his regular gifts. Strangely enough, when Amy had given him the CD she found at another store, all Sonic had been able to muster was a small smile and a nod.

As the host of the party, Amy had insisted that she receive her presents last, and each one she opened brought a smile to her face, even as her anticipation for what Sonic had for her grew. But watching his reactions to her presents, Amy couldn't help but wonder why he had suddenly lost all of his childlike enthusiasm...he seemed so subdued all of a sudden, and not in the nervous kind of way he'd been earlier. It was almost as if he was...guilty.

"Well, there's only one person who hasn't given our host her present yet," Rouge turned to the blue hedgehog, who appeared distinctly uncomfortable under Rouge's gaze. "You're up Big Blue, what'd you get her?"

Uncharacteristically, Sonic didn't answer and simply walked up to Amy, who was beaming up at him from her chair. He internally winced when her face fell as he handed her a simple unmarked envelope and turned to walk out the front door.

"Sonic...what..." she looked down at the sealed envelope, then back up at Sonic who had just closed her door behind him, then back at the envelope again as she tried to hold back her disappointment. Here she'd been expecting something special, and it turned out he didn't even have a regular gift for her. _"I should've known better."_

Looking around at her friends, they all seemed to share a bewildered expression, even Tails seemed to have no idea what was going on, as he shook his head and shrugged helplessly at her. "I have no idea what that was about, maybe you should just open it."

Amy looked back down at the envelope, and after a moment of staring at it numbly, she wordlessly ripped it open and pulled out a card. "Wait...what is this?" the front and back of the card was blank, so she opened it, and all she saw was two words written in Sonic's hasty chicken-scratch handwriting. "All it says is...I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? For not buying you a gift?" Cream asked aloud.

Tails shook his head. "That can't be it, Sonic showed me what he was planning on giving her, it's _gotta_ mean something else."

"It means that I gotta knock some sense into that jerk's blue skull!"

"Cool off Knucklehead!" Rouge yanked the angry echidna back down to his chair by his red and green scarf, earning her a sharp glare and growl from the guardian. Before he could give a rebuttal however, Rouge turned her attention to Amy, who looked to be on the verge of just breaking into tears right there. "Look hun, I don't know what Sonic is thinking with all this, but if you _really_ want answers, he's standing there on your porch."

Amy slowly raised her head to look at her door, and tightly grasping the card in her hand, she left the room and went to open the door. Once she did, her vision was immediately graced by a shock of blue fur and a brown scarf. He had his back turned to the door, standing there silently even as she closed the door behind her.

The pink hedgehog began to tremble as anger began to replace her sadness. Nothing made sense to her anymore. Between Rouge's suggestions of something big happening, Sonic's strange actions all through the night, and the worthless piece of blank scrap paper he'd turned into a card and scribbled two words into, everything seemed to contradict what her expectations were. And just when she thought she'd been hung out to dry again, here was Sonic. He hadn't run off, he was just standing there, apparently doing his best Shadow impression.

Well one thing was for sure, she was tired of all the confusion.

She stomped over to him and got in front of him, holding the card in front of his face. "Alright Sonic, what is this?" she spat out. When Sonic didn't respond, she continued. "Well? Are you gonna explain what this means? Or are you just gonna stand there and not have the guts to tell me that you apparently just didn't feel like getting me anything this year?"

After a few seconds, the blue hedgehog raised his head to face her with a guilty frown on his face and his ears drooped. "It means what it says Ames."

"All it says is I'm sorry!" she screamed. "Enough with the nonsense Sonic! I'm not psychic and I haven't touched my tarot cards in years! What is this supposed to mean?!" she opened the card again and read it for emphasis. "'I'm sorry.'" she slammed it shut and glared at him. "Sorry for what?! You're sorry you didn't get me a gift? You're sorry that you couldn't find me a gift?" she unwillingly released a strangled sob as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Or maybe...you're sorry for never making my Christmas wish come true...and breaking my heart over and over and over-"

"Amy!" The pink hedgehog gasped at Sonic's outburst, and blinked away tears as he looked at her with the most intense expression she'd ever seen from him in the entire ten years she'd known him. "It's not that I couldn't find you a gift, ok?" he huffed and looked around for a moment, running his hand through his quills in apparent frustration. "Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. Rouge found me the other day and told me how'd I'd been unfair to you all these years."

"She said that?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe it either at first." Sonic sighed and scuffed his shoe against the porch, looking more and more uncomfortable as he continued. "At first I thought she was pullin' my leg, since she has a history of messin' with me and everything, but then she started talkin' about how you were all depressed and all your 'Christmas spirit' had been taken away, and she said it was all my fault!"

"Sonic, I-"

"Lemme finish Amy," Sonic interrupted her and tried to collect himself, finally settling for sitting down on the edge of the porch with his leg bouncing up and down anxiously. Amy joined him seconds later. "The more Rouge told me about the conversation she had with you, the worse I felt, it was like this ache in my chest and no amount of running would make it go away afterwards. I realized...that I hurt you." Sonic turned to look the pink hedgehog in the eyes. "That's what the card means Amy, it's an apology. It's an apology for all the times I ran from you or hurt you or made you feel bad just because...because I didn't know how to react to you."

Amy turned away and looked back down at the plain card, suddenly she had a much clearer understanding of his intentions, and she could feel her heart mending a little. Although, she still felt a dull ache in her chest thanks to what Rouge had put Sonic through because of what they had discussed. If there was one thing she hated more than feeling bad, it was when Sonic felt bad. "Sonic, you don't have to apologize to me, I forgave you for all that _years_ ago!" she gave a small smile. "I'm glad you did though..." she looked down for a moment before looking back at him. "But why couldn't you just tell me? Why go through all this trouble?"

Sonic scoffed, his ears still drooped. "Because I don't wear my heart on my sleeve like you."

"Heeeeey!" she punched his arm and laughed a bit, and she smiled when Sonic laughed a little too as he rubbed his arm.

"Listen Ames, doing all this was tough for me. I'm not the kinda guy who just goes around tellin' everyone what's on his mind, got a hero's reputation to keep ya know...but I feel like there's more ya need to know."

Amy nodded. "Sonic, before you keep going, I want you to know something first." she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "If there is _ever_ anything you feel like you need to get off your chest, you can come to me. I don't care about your reputation or your being a hero or any of that other stuff, I never did. All I ever cared about was you, _just_ you, with all the little flaws and quirks that make you who you are," her eyes shifted to his bouncing leg, and she placed a hand over it and held it down, grinning playfully at him. "Including that."

The hedgehogs began laughing again, and once it died down, they sat there silently for a few moments, watching the stars twinkle in the Mobius night sky. Eventually though, Sonic cleared his throat, garnering Amy's attention once more. "Anyway...like I said Ames, there's more ya gotta know, and I _did_ originally have a plan for this year, but it kinda got messed up when Rouge confronted me."

"Ok."

Sonic took a deep breath, trying to gather his courage even as his heart pounded inside his chest. "I know how much ya care for me Ames, you've proven that over and over again over the years. But for a long time, I pushed ya away because I wasn't interested in what you were offering at the time. Ya wanted me to become your boyfriend, I couldn't do that."

"I know that now," Amy smiled sadly. "I guess if anyone needs to apologize it's me, I made you really uncomfortable when we were kids, it's a miracle we're even friends now."

The blue hedgehog slowly shook his head. "No, ya see, that's the thing." Sonic looked away, refusing to look the pink hedgehog in the eye. "Even though ya got on my last nerve every once in a while, I always knew it was only because you cared...and...honestly...I kinda...enjoyed the attention. I didn't know why at the time, but somehow things weren't the same whenever ya weren't around." Sonic's ears drooped, and he cringed inwardly as he felt his cheeks heat up. But he was on a roll, and he knew that if he stopped now, he wouldn't be able to continue. "Then as the years went by, I realized that you were...I dunno, maturing I guess? You were changing, mellowing out, and all the stuff that I didn't really like about you started to disappear, leaving only this..." he gestured towards her. "Perfected version of you that was more willing to respect my boundaries."

Amy blushed a bit at the usage of the word perfect, but her mind was racing as she tried to comprehend exactly what Sonic was telling her. "I appreciate the compliment...at least I _think_ it was a compliment, but I don't really know what you're trying to say."

Sonic groaned and shook his head. "Why does this stuff have to be so difficult?" the speedy blue hedgehog got up from sitting on the porch and took a few steps away, holding his head in his palm as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Ok," he turned around with a determined expression. "I guess what I'm tryin' to say here Ames...is that as time went by, I started to like you more and more. You changed. You aren't the same little girl who used to follow me around everywhere and demand my hand in marriage, and then beat the snot outta me if I said no. You have your own dreams, your own goals...and me? Heh, at this point, I just feel lucky that I get to see you accomplish them."

"Sonic, I-"

"But you know what Amy?" Sonic cut her off, not even aware she'd started to speak, and he walked up to her and took her hands to pull her onto her feet, and he looked down at her with a melancholy expression. "There's a part of me that misses the old you, the one who would go nuts tryin' to find me and chase me everywhere, the one who would constantly proclaim her love for me every day...and the reason why is because...I feel like you've outgrown me now."

"Stop right there," Amy put her finger on his lips and shut him up, frowning at him with her brow furrowed. "First of all, I never _outgrew_ you, that's just ridiculous." she then wrapped her arms around the taller hedgehog's neck, and she felt his muscles tense under her touch. "And second, I want you to know that I've never stopped loving you...I just figured that having you as a friend would be better than not having you at all...so...I backed off."

"Is...is that why you've pretty much been avoiding physical contact these past few years?"

Amy nodded against his chest. "Yes...I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Well..." slowly, with his hands shaking and his hedgehog heart beating faster than he could ever imagine, he wrapped his arms around the pink hedgehog's torso and pulled her in closer...and as he held her, he realized that his anxiety and nervousness was beginning to melt away, replaced by the warmth and comfort her embrace provided. "From where I stand _now_ Ames, I'm pretty darn comfortable right now." Somehow he could feel her smile against his chest, and he squeezed tighter in response. "I hope you understand what I'm trying to say Amy..."

She looked up and beamed at him with a nod, her jade green eyes shimmering with unshed tears of joy. "I do now Sonic...and if I may be so bold, I'd just like to say that...yes, I would be _more_ than happy to be your girlfriend."

The blue hedgehog breathed out a chuckle and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm glad you're the one who said it, I don't think I would've been able to handle much more of this."

"I know," Amy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Sonic the Hedgehog is too cool to bare his soul to the world, the very _idea_ of speaking from his heart and being sincere makes his skin crawl." she looked up at him again and smiled softly. "Which is why I appreciate the fact that he gathered all his courage to tell me something like this...you've made my Christmas so special Sonic, you have no idea how happy I am right now."

"Heh," Sonic blushed. "I'd like to think I have some idea."

The pink hedgehog smirked and leaned up to kiss his cheek, an act that caused his face to flare up and drew giggles from her. "Come on Sonic, let's get inside, it's freezing out here anyway." she started dragging him back inside, when her eyes caught a small box next to the windowsill. "Wait a second, what's that?"

"Oh, uh...that." Sonic rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground even as Amy brought the small, flat box wrapped in blue paper over. "That was gonna be your present before all this started...remember I said I had a plan...well, I was hoping that this would get the message across without me having to say anything...it was _Rouge_ who convinced me you deserved more."

"Well," Amy grinned. "Let's just see what's in here then." she carefully unwrapped the paper and she gasped when she saw the brand name of a jewelry store on the small beige box. "Sonic, you didn't?"

Sonic again rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw how much you liked that necklace...so...I decided I'd go ahead and get it for you for Christmas."

"That is _so_ sweet, thank you Sonic." she smiled warmly at him and opened the box.

The next thing she knew, she was covered in soot.

"What the?!" Sonic zipped over and grabbed the box from the stunned pink hedgehog's hands. "Amy, I swear this isn't one of my joke gifts, I dunno how this could've happened! I mean I had the box the whole time before I put it on the windowsill, don't worry, I'll get you a new one, and I'll-"

"Sonic," he froze at Amy's voice. She seemed upset, but somehow it wasn't aimed at him. "I'm not mad at you...I think I know what happened, look at this." she handed him the wrapping paper she'd been careful not to rip.

Taking it from her, Sonic raised an eyebrow in confusion. "This isn't the paper I wrapped your present in, mine was a lighter blue...and..." he squinted as there appeared to be something on the other side of the paper. "'Thanks for the shiny, hope you enjoy my gift, Merry Christmas from Bean the Dynamite.'" Sonic crushed the paper in his fist and growled. "Are you kidding? That daffy duck is the one who did this? That means he was here and took your necklace! Well don't worry, I'll get it back!"

"Sonic!" she reached out to stop him from running off in a rage-induced frenzy. "It's ok, let him keep it. I already have the greatest gift of all anyway."

Sonic blushed and chuckled. "If you say so Ames."

"I say so." she nodded and took his arm. "Now c'mon, let's go back inside, we've got a lot of explaining to do."

"And by we, you mean..."

"I," she rolled her eyes. _"I_ have a lot of explaining to do. Don't worry, if Knuckles tries to tease you, I'll make sure to let him have it."

Sonic finally laughed for real, and he shook his head in amusement. "That's part of why I love ya Ames."

Amy decided to let that minor slip of the tongue pass. He may not have realized he said it, but she knew it was the truth. He did love her, and she knew that now. It had taken ten years for Sonic to finally gather the courage to do something, and she made a mental note to both thank and scold Rouge for motivating Sonic into changing his plans to include an extremely rare heart-to-heart.

With that out of the way, Amy knew that she would have to work hard to keep him, but now she was experienced in the way that Sonic did things, and she figured as long as she took it easy, Sonic would be willing to stick around. Her patience had finally paid its dividends, as she now had the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog as her honest-to-goodness boyfriend.

She may not have gotten her Christmas wish this year...but at least now she knew that it was only a matter of time.  
_

 **A/N: Tada! There's some Sonamy for you! Now then, I hope to have some new content for some different fandoms out soon, but I'm having some trouble staying motivated...I'll have to find a way to fix that. In the meantime, if you liked this story, go check out the story "Anonymous," which takes places during the time of this story and is what you might call a spinoff of this one. If you like Shadow, you just might like it.**

 **Well anyway, thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas everyone.**


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